Bank of America reiterated its Buy rating on Meta Platforms and established a price target of $810, representing approximately 9.3% upside from a reference price of $741.25. The investment bank’s decision followed the launch of Muse, Meta’s consumer AI assistant, which debuted on Sept. 8 and has demonstrated capabilities beyond traditional chatbots, including website browsing, email organization, and multi-step task completion.
Muse achieved notable early traction, accumulating 2.5 million downloads in the United States by Sept. 19 and reaching approximately 557,000 daily active users. The application’s performance through its initial 12 days, with 1.43 million iOS downloads, exceeded ChatGPT’s comparable early metrics of 1.37 million downloads at the same stage. Bank of America cited these figures as evidence supporting the proposition that Meta could convert its substantial AI infrastructure investments into commercially viable consumer products. Meta’s ability to distribute Muse across its platforms, which serve 3.6 billion daily users, provides a distribution advantage few competitors possess.
The strategic importance of Muse extends beyond its immediate performance. Meta faces a consequential decision regarding its limited AI computing capacity: allocating resources to consumer products or selling capacity to external customers. Bank of America estimated that external leasing could generate up to $40 billion per gigawatt based on recent industry transactions. However, Meta’s management has signaled preference for pursuing consumer agents and AI-enhanced advertising as sources of greater long-term value. This decision carries substantial financial implications given Meta’s projected 2026 capital expenditures of $130 billion to $145 billion, compared with $72.22 billion during 2025.
Meta stock has appreciated 36% over the preceding month, substantially outperforming broader market gains of 1.2%. However, the company’s valuation has compressed, trading near 21 times its 2027 earnings estimate compared with approximately 16 times several months earlier. Bank of America’s $810 target applies a 24-times multiple to estimated 2027 earnings, providing minimal upside margin at current valuations. The investment thesis now depends on demonstrating that Muse downloads convert into sustained engagement and monetizable activity through subscriptions, commerce, or advertising gains.
Significant risks accompany the Muse opportunity. The application requires access to sensitive user accounts, creating privacy concerns that have prompted some third parties to restrict access, including Amazon blocking the agent from its shopping platform. Additionally, the substantial capital expenditure program pressures free cash flow if AI demand proves lower than anticipated. Investors should monitor retention metrics, paid subscription conversion, operational costs, partner access agreements, and 2027 guidance as key indicators of whether Muse becomes a sustainable revenue driver.
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